There They Are Again
by SydneyGirl92
Summary: Arthur has seen them before and finally gets his chance to meet them. From that first meeting, Arthur knows Merlin is the one for him. Warnings: Merthur, deaf Merlin


This is a deaf Merlin story. Please forgive any errors I've made about deafness and sign language. Thanks to my beta kaseyboy. You're the best sis.

**There They Are Again**

'There they are again,' Arthur thought to himself as he looked out his living room window at the man and little girl sitting on the bench across the street from his house.

Arthur had just moved into this house about two and a half weeks ago and in that time, he had spotted them five times. Sometimes they had a dog with them, but not always, which he found kind of strange.

Today, there was no dog.

The first thing that caught his attention was the man's dark untamed hair, rather large ears and his build. He was on the slim side but was nice and tall with broad shoulders. Once he got past that, he noticed his beautiful face featuring high cheekbones and lovely full lips. He had a strong jawline along with very expressive eyes, but, unfortunately he couldn't see what color they were.

He looked like he was in the range of twenty-two to twenty-five years old, entirely to young to be the father of the little girl, who looked to be seven or eight. Maybe he was her big brother or possibly babysitter, but by the way they interacted, he doubted the second option.

He was intrigued by the way they interacted. When the little girl talked to the young man, she always seemed to have her body turned so she was facing him on the bench. He would speak to her while moving his hands, like he was using sign language. It hit him that possibly the little girl was deaf which made his heart go out to her and swell for the young man that obviously had taken the time to learn to sign for her.

His ringing phone was the only thing that drew him away from the window. He realized he was supposed to be doing some work from home and Morgana was probably waiting, at the office, for him to send her the file.

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The next time he saw the young man and little girl, he had just walked out his door to go get some groceries. He didn't even realize he'd been standing there just staring at the man until he heard someone yelling. It turned out to be the little girl yelling as she went running after her dog, quickly followed by the young man.

Arthur went running across the street to join in the chase for the runaway dog and was able to cut him off and grab his leash.

The young man and little girl quickly caught up to him. The little girl fell to her knees in front of the dog and wrapped her arms around him while the young man looked at him shyly and said and signed "thank you," or at least that's what Arthur thought he was doing, and gave him the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. Arthur's heart instantly melted. 'This can't be good, one smile and I'm done for,' he thought to himself.

"It was no problem," he said as he looked into the young man's eyes and noticed they were the most stunning blue he'd ever seen. "I'm glad I could help."

The young man gave him another smile as he turned to the little girl and then kneeled down beside her. When she looked at him, he again signed as he said, "Freya, what do you say to the nice man for saving Winny?"

The little girl, Freya, stood up, turned to Arthur and said, "thank you."

"You are very welcome," he said back to her with a smile. He thought it was kind of strange that Freya didn't appear to be deaf.

Freya turned back to the young man, who told her it was time to go. Arthur, who didn't even realize he was still holding Winny's leash, handed it over to the young man as he said, "I'm Arthur, by the way."

Merlin gave him another one of his heart melting smiles and said "Merlin."

Arthur held out his hand, "nice to meet you Merlin."

Merlin grabbed his hand, which caused a jolt of electricity to surge up Arthur's arm and into his heart, and said, "nice to meet you too, Arthur."

Arthur knew he held on to Merlin's hand longer than was necessary as he said, "I hope to see you again soon."

Merlin put his head down before shyly looking up at Arthur and nodding.

He then turned with Freya and they walked away following Winny while Arthur stood there, watching him walk away, knowing that Merlin had just stolen his heart.

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It was a week later when Arthur saw Merlin and Freya at the park. A few days ago, when he went to the store, he had bought a box of dog treats, just in case he happened to run into Merlin, Freya and their dog again.

As luck would have it, Winny was with them again but he was tied more securely to the bench this time.

"Hi, I thought maybe Winny would like a treat," Arthur said as he was standing off to the side of Merlin, who was sitting on the bench watching Freya.

Merlin didn't acknowledge him because he didn't see Arthur standing there. All of a sudden, Freya came running over and said, "he's deaf. He can read lips but you have to be in front of him so he can see your mouth move." She then turned around and ran back to the swings.

Obviously, this had drawn Merlin's attention to Arthur. He seemed embarrassed because his cheeks and ears had turned an adorable shade of red.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," he signed and said to Arthur.

Arthur moved over to the bench and motioned towards it, "do you mind if I sit down with you." He made sure he spoke slowly and was directly in Merlin's eyesight.

Merlin smiled and nodded.

Arthur sat down and didn't say anything for a few moments. He was caught completely off-guard by the revelation that Merlin was deaf. He'd originally thought it was Freya that was deaf but then, after their interaction the other day, he came to the conclusion that neither were deaf and maybe Merlin was just trying to practice sign language or teach Freya or maybe he wasn't signing at all, and was just very expressive with his hands when he spoke.

Finally, Arthur turned his body so he was facing Merlin, like he had seen Freya doing before. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were deaf."

"It's okay," he said with sadness in his voice and slightly downturned lips.

This threw Arthur until he realized Merlin must have taken what Arthur said as him basically telling him he wasn't interested now.

"No, no, I meant, I'm sorry I didn't realize you were deaf or I would have made sure I approached you from where you could have seen me." He hoped he was making himself clear.

Thankfully, it must have worked because Merlin gave him a smile that could light up the night sky.

They talked for awhile until Arthur got a call. It was his father, who had some questions about a business deal they were in the middle of finalizing, so he apologized to Merlin and told him he had to go. But before he walked away he asked, "when will you be back here?"

"Probably tomorrow if the weather is nice."

"Great," Arthur said grinning from ear to ear. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

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Sunday afternoon, Arthur was waiting at the bench for Merlin and Freya to arrive. When he saw them approaching, he stood up and greeted them both with a wide smile and wave.

Freya ran up to him and said, "do you like my dad?"

He was again caught off-guard when she referred to Merlin as 'dad' but he still replied with, "yes, I do like him."

"Good, because he seems to like you too," she whispered with her hand covering her mouth so Merlin couldn't see what she'd said.

Arthur chuckled, "thanks for the info. That's good to know."

"You're welcome," she yelled over her shoulder as she ran off to the slide.

When Arthur looked at Merlin, Merlin was giving him a questioning look. Arthur said, "what?"

"What did Freya say to you," he asked suspiciously.

Arthur tried to look innocent as he said, "nothing important," before he quickly changed the subject.

They talked for nearly two hours. In that time, Arthur learned that Merlin became completely deaf at fourteen. He had been slowly losing his hearing for years and said that's why he could read lips so well. "When my hearing was going, I'd really watch people's mouths move as they spoke. Since I could still hear them, it made it much easier for me to learn to read lips."

He discovered that Merlin was twenty-five and Freya was only six. Freya was actually his niece. He adopted her two years ago after his sister and her husband died in a car accident. Merlin explained how she started calling him dad about a year ago. "She knows I'm not her real dad but asked me if she could call me dad anyway since I take care of her like I am her dad."

Merlin was a graphic designer and worked most of the time from home so he could be there for Freya. His mum, Hunith, had moved to London a year ago to offer Merlin help with Freya. She was a nurse and lived not far from them.

Winny wasn't their dog, it was Gwen and Lance, his best friend's dog. They let Freya "borrow" him whenever she wanted.

Merlin learned that Arthur was twenty-eight years old, VP of marketing at his father's company, Pendragon Inc. and that he had just recently returned to London after living and working at the company's New York branch for the past couple of years.

He was single but definitely ready to settle down and had bought and moved into the house across the street recently.

All too soon, it was time for Merlin and Freya to get going. Before he left, Arthur handed Merlin his phone and asked if he could have his number.

Merlin nodded as he took it and programmed it in.

"I'll text you," he said as he took the phone back from Merlin.

"Okay, see you around Arthur," Merlin said before Freya yelled, "bye Arthur."

"Bye Freya, and thanks again for the info."

She just smiled at him and giggled before walking away hand in hand with Merlin.

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That night, Arthur couldn't stop himself, he had to text Merlin.

"Hi, it's Arthur. I had a nice time today at the park."

A few minutes later he got a text back. "so did i"

"I hope I'm not rushing things but would you consider going on a date with me?"

"yes"

"Would you be able to go on Saturday?"

It was about ten minutes later before Merlin texted him back. "sorry i had to check with my mum to see if she could watch Freya and she can so saturday would be great."

"How about I pick you up around 7:00 and take you to dinner."

"that sounds nice."

"What's your favorite food?"

"i'm not picky."

They continued to text for the better part of an hour before they reluctantly said good night to each other.

Arthur laid in bed that night knowing that he had given his heart to Merlin and he couldn't be any happier about it.

Merlin went to sleep dreaming of blonde hair, blue eyes and full lips that covered a crooked smile.

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Arthur and Merlin texted each other daily. As Saturday drew near, they both were extremely excited and could hardly wait.

When Merlin had texted Arthur his address, he had been surprised that Merlin and Freya only lived a few blocks away in a flat on the third floor of a five story building.

When Arthur got to the door, he wondered how Merlin would know he was there. He pushed what looked like a door bell but didn't hear any sound inside the flat. He was just getting ready to grab his phone to send Merlin a text when the door opened.

Arthur must have looked really surprised because Merlin opened the door and motioned for him to come inside. Once he was inside, Merlin stepped out and pushed the door bell to show Arthur how the lights blinked letting him know someone was at the door.

Merlin must have noticed Arthur's embarrassment because he chuckled and said, "everyone is always curious about that."

Arthur smiled sheepishly before saying, "are you ready to go?"

Merlin held up one finger and quickly went into the other room, where he grabbed his keys, before he came back and nodded.

They had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant. Arthur chose it because it wasn't too fancy and it was well lit since Merlin had to see him clearly to communicate.

They had a terrific time. After dinner, they took a stroll. They hadn't even gotten a block when Arthur reached over and grabbed Merlin's hand to hold.

Merlin looked at him and smiled before he adjusted his hand so their fingers were entwined. Arthur gave Merlin what probably looked like a dopey smile but he didn't care. This just felt so right. Arthur knew, beyond a doubt, he had found 'the one' he wanted to share his life with.

He wasn't scared by the fact that Merlin was deaf or that he had a six-year-old he was raising. Arthur was actually shocked by how comforting the whole idea felt. Before, in his other relationships, he always got nervous and scared away by the smallest of things. He knew, without a doubt, this was it for him. He felt no nervousness, and, if being with a deaf man with a daughter wasn't enough to scare him off, nothing would.

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Arthur and Merlin continued dating. Freya really liked Arthur and he adored her.

"I think he loves you," she whispered to Arthur behind her hands while they were all at the park several months later. By this time, Freya was back in school so they usually only came to the park on weekends.

"That's good because I am definitely in love with him," he said making sure Merlin was watching him. Merlin's face instantly lit up. Freya then took off to the swings.

Arthur walked over to Merlin and pulled him into his arms and gave him a sweet kiss, since they were in public, pulled back enough so Merlin could read his lips and said, "I am so in love with you. I have been since the first day I met you."

Merlin pulled him closer and kissed him before he whispered in Arthur's ear, "I love you too."

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Arthur found it amazing how quickly Freya had learned to sign. He, himself, had secretly been meeting with a sign language tutor to help him with it and was actually quite proud of the progress he had made in the few short months he'd been learning it.

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Merlin took Arthur to meet Hunith in November. She liked him from the start and was thrilled with how much he seemed to love not only Merlin, but also Freya.

He also met Gwen and Lance, who treated him like an old friend, along with Merlin's other friends, Gwaine and Percy. It didn't take him very long to realize how protective Gwaine was of Merlin. It took quite a long talk with Gwaine to convince him how much he truly cared about Merlin and that he had no intentions of hurting him. Finally, Gwaine gave them his blessing.

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Arthur introduced Merlin to his sister, Morgana, and her husband Leon. They were thrilled to finally meet the man who had stolen his heart. They simply adored Merlin.

When Arthur took Merlin to meet his father, Uther, he was nervous. He had never before taken anyone he had dated to meet him. Now, he was taking his deaf boyfriend, who was raising his niece, to meet him but he had worried for nothing. Uther found Merlin to be a charming young man with a good head on his shoulders. He later told Arthur that he thought Merlin was a wonderful match for him and at least now he'd get a grandchild from him.

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As Christmas approached, Arthur and Merlin took Freya to pick out a Christmas tree. It was such a domestic thing to do, it made Arthur feel all warm inside.

Christmas Eve, Arthur spent his first night at Merlin's while Freya was there. He had spent the night there before but it'd always been when Freya was at Hunith's.

"Arthur, will you be here in the morning to open presents with us?" Freya asked him.

"Well, I'll come over as soon as I can."

"That's just silly. Why don't you just stay here, that way we won't have to wait on you." Merlin just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then, that sounds like a much better idea."

"Great," she said with a smile before she went over and gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

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When he and Merlin got up at 6:30 on Christmas morning, they found Freya already sitting by the tree waiting.

"Good morning" and "Merry Christmas," they both said to her.

She ran over to them and pulled them both into a hug. "It's about time you got up. I've been waiting forever," to which they just laughed as they hugged her back.

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They went to Hunith's house for a lite Christmas lunch and then to Uther's for dinner. Uther surprised them by having presents under the tree for Freya. He instantly adored the little girl and she him. Morgana and Leon also were drawn in by her sweetness.

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It was February when Freya asked Merlin why Arthur didn't live with them. Arthur hadn't spent the night since Christmas while Freya was there.

"Well, first we're not married and second, we didn't know how you'd feel about him living with us."

"Daddy, I love Arthur too. I want him to live with us so we can be a family all the time."

"I guess I'll have to talk to him about it then," Merlin told her.

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Merlin kept putting off talking to Arthur about them living together because he was too nervous. It was one thing, them acting like a family part-time, but he didn't know if Arthur was ready or even willing to take on the role full-time.

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Arthur beat Merlin to the punch in March. Freya was staying with Hunith for the weekend so he took Merlin out to dinner and then they went back to Arthur's house.

As soon as they walked in, Merlin's breath was taken away. The living room was lit with candle light and there was a blanket spread out in front of the fireplace with a bottle of wine sitting beside it in a cooler. Merlin looked over at Arthur with a puzzled look on his face.

Arthur grabbed his hand and led him to sit on the blanket. He then moved so he was sitting directly in front of him where the light from both the fireplace and candles shined on him.

Arthur took a deep breath as he gazed into Merlin's eyes before he started signing along with speaking. "Merlin, since the first time I met you, I knew you were it for me. I love you more than life itself. I love Freya like she is my daughter too. Merlin, I'm all in. I don't want you and Freya only on weekends. I don't want to have to say goodbye and go home at the end of the night. I want you both all the time and forever. Merlin, will you marry me?" By the end of his speech, both of them had tears running down their cheeks.

"Of course I'll marry you," Merlin said as he practically feel onto Arthur, who just held onto him for dear life. He had no plans of ever letting him get away now.

A few hours later, after they had celebrated their engagement without any clothing in the way, Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand and led him to the bathroom where they shared a shower and did a little more celebrating.

Once they were finally dried off and dressed, Arthur looked tentatively at Merlin.

"What?" Merlin asked him.

Arthur once again grabbed him by the hand and led him down to the end of the hall. He told Merlin to shut his eyes as he opened the door and led Merlin inside. Arthur rubbed his cheek, indicating he could open his eyes.

What Merlin saw had tears once again streaming down his face. Arthur had the room painted pink and had it all set up for Freya. He even had someone paint her name in script over her bed. Merlin looked around, his smile getting bigger with every little detail he took in. Arthur had obviously put a lot of thought and time into getting the room like this. Finally, Merlin turned around to look Arthur directly in the face. "I can't believe you did this. This is so wonderful. Freya's going to love it. Thank you so much Arthur, I love you more than anything," he said as he pulled Arthur into his arms and gave him a long passionate kiss. They quickly left the room and went back to their own bedroom to continue what they just started.

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It was almost one year to the day since Arthur and Merlin met, that they got married. They had a small ceremony in the park across the street from their house, with just family and close friends. Merlin and Arthur walked down the aisle together hand in hand and were joined by Freya as they said their vows to each other.

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After Merlin and Arthur got back from their honeymoon, the three of them settled into the wonderful life they had created. Arthur soon adopted Freya. She now called him papa and they let her get a puppy of her own so she wouldnt have to "borrow" one anymore.

A few years later, they adopted a little boy they named Will. Freya was excited to have a little brother. Life was good...no, life was great!

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The end.

Thanks for reading.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.


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